Hampton Court Palace Tours

If you are a King Henry VIII fan, this is where to go! Easy train ride and there are so many "characters" walking around telling stories plus a walking tour, that you don't need to spend a lot of money to enjoy. Eating at the castle is possible, but it is expensive and not very good. Would suggest walking into the village around the castle and eat there.

Closed early the day we were there. But had been previously, an interesting bit of history and architecture to see.

Go by train! Use your Oyster card (much cheaper than buying a train ticket)! Forget expensive and crowded packaged bus tours...come and go on YOUR schedule. Allow yourself a minimum of 3 - 4 hours to visit the palace. Afterward, make sure to stop at the Prince of Wales Pub in picturesque Hampton Court Village, only steps from the train station. Their pork pies and Comfortably Numb Ale are so yummy you may just decide to take a later train back to London!

Heritage week gives free entry to selected sites. The Royal School of Embroidery at Hampton Court was open to the public on the day I visited. And the gardens are beautiful!

Don't bother with going to the gardens at Kensington. Go here! It's a quick train ride (maybe 20 min) from London. This is truly a beautiful castle that takes you back in time. Reminded me of Game of Thrones so much! The tour guides throughout the castle and the audio tours were fantastic. If you can only see one castle while in England, I highly recommend fitting this one in!

A little expensive but averaging it with the free museums made it not so bad. Great history!